5 items Angels fans should have on their Christmas wish list

2) Angels players stay healthy

It's unfair to blame all of the losing the Angels have done in recent years on injuries, but that doesn't mean they haven't played a crucial role. Virtually everyone on the team this past season was hurt, and the Angels two highest-paid players have been hurt year after year in recent memory.

Anthony Rendon has combined to play in 148 of the 486 games he could have played in the last three years. Mike Trout has combined to play in 237 of the 486 possible games in the last three years. Both are under 50%, and that has undoubtedly played a role in the Angels falling apart. The Angels were sticking around the hunt before Trout (and several others) went down with injury.

We don't know what Rendon would do if he ever played in 130+ games again, but Mike Trout is still very elite. No, he's not the Trout of old and has seen a bit of a dip in production, especially this past season, but he's still an elite hitter.

While Trout and Rendon have been the face of the injury woes, several others missed substantial time. Shohei Ohtani led the team in games played despite him missing the final month of the season. Guys like Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward, and Gio Urshela all suffered season-ending injuries. Even youngsters Logan O'Hoppe, Zach Neto, Ben Joyce, and Sam Bachman all missed substantial time.

We know this Angels team probably won't be all that great, but that doesn't mean we want to see half the team spend most of the year injured. Hopefully they can find a way to stay somewhat healthy in 2024 and beyond.